The City of Sparks ~ Jeanne DuPrau

Book two in this series.  Another two and a half out of five, for all the same reasons.

WARNING, this review will be a spoiler if you wanted to read book one!

SPOILER ALERT
Okay, so the kids manage to rescue the townspeople, who were unwittingly living in a cave.  Now that everyone is free from the cave, though, they have to find somewhere to go...  can you guess???  Yes, the city of Sparks finds itself inundated with hundreds of refugee "cave people."  They do their best, or not, well, maybe they hold a little back, but they have to look out for number one, and it's not as though they owe those people anything at all!  So, the people of Sparks sort of help the people of Ember and then grudges build up and they all relearn the lesson that we all need to get along.

On second thought, maybe I shouldn't have rated this one so high, but really, if you have nothing better to do you can read this in a day or so and it must be somewhat interesting, because I'm reading another in the series right now.

Two-Part Invention ~ Madeleine L'Engle

This book was simply incredible.  I love the Wrinkle in Time series and have always had a deep affection for Madeleine L'Engle, because of those books.  This book is the fourth in an autobiographical series.  Unfortuneatly, our library did not have the other three available, but they're on my must-read list as of today.

There were connections all over the place for me while reading this book.  First, Jean Kerr, author of Please Don't Eat the Daisies an old favorite of mine, is a friend of L'Engle.  Then, there's the trip to Chicago, when they stay on Lake Shore Drive.  That is where Jurgis, of The Jungle, meets the owner of a large part of the packing district.  Add to that the incredible difficulties L'Engle faces through this book and her words of wisdom, so pertinent to where myself and many of my friends are at this time, and you have a book that I could not have read at a better time.

If you are ever at a loss for how to respond to another's grief or trials, this book will help you.  If you're facing grief or trials, this book will help you.  If you loved 'All My Children,' this book is about Hugh Franklin (L'Engle is his wife).  If you're a writer, a mother, a child, a human being, this book will touch you.  I've laughed, I've cried, I've lived about a million years since starting this on Saturday.

My next step will be to order all four from Amazon. 

5 out of 5, if I was my son I would put 6.  This is such an incredible book.

Miss Manners' Basic Training, Eating ~ Judith Martin

Five out of five!
Another wonderful how-to!  If there's any doubt how to eat, both in public and private, after all you owe your family at least as much as you do strangers, then read this book.  From how to hold a fork and cut up food, to which fork to use this book lays out in style and with plenty of humor everything you need to know.  There's even a section on family dining, at home, with children.  I've found this series to be so enlightening and my friends, family and neighbors have noticed a big difference.  I recommend this, even for those that believe they know what they're doing.

Favorite quote:

Wimpiness, along the lines of "Oh, do whatever makes you feel comforable," is part of what was destroying the very notionof etiquette's importance before Miss Manners charged in, armor clanking, to rescue it.

I really can't recommend this highly enough.  There is so much wisdom here, so many "rules" that can keep from having to pull your foot out of your mouth.  And there's the simple idea that manners are there as consideration for others.

There is even a section on children, how to teach them, how to treat them, and how they should behave in the cafeteria.

Wuthering Heights ~ Emily Bronte

Five out of five

An incredibly rich story of love, denial, hate, badly mended hearts, and redemption.  I thoroughly enjoyed this book.  Once I got passed the beginning, which is a little bit dry, and into Mrs. Dean's narrative the story poured out.  I ate this up in two days.

It's hard to have complete sympathy for any character in the book, although towards the end the lovers do manage to dredge out some good will from all, after really beastly behavior.  If there are lessons here, they are manifold.  Favorites, among children, does no one any good.  Revenge is a dish that should be left for God, as its repercussions are visited on both the server and the diner.  Don't judge a book by its cover, first impressions are often false and a person is much more than their obvious parts.

I highly recommend this.  It's a heavier Alcott or Austin.  Darker, with a more modern taste for human nature, much more true than the lighter more trustworthy views of the aforementioned ladies, whom I adore but do find niave.  If you love Alcott or Austin, but want something a little less sugary and a little more substantial then try this one!